The Lutheran Ladies' Lounge from KFUO Radio

Which Lutheran ladies do the Lutheran Ladies want to be when they grow up? In this four-segment Sharathon episode, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel each consider and describe one or more heroines of the faith who exemplify the kind of Lutheran woman they hope to become. From math teachers to missionary mentors, from beloved grandmothers to authors who play beloved grandmothers on the radio for April F...

In this special Holy Week episode, the Ladies welcome international missionary Angie Sharp into the Lounge—all the way from Montevideo, Uruguay! Angie, a missionary educator, serves alongside her husband, the Rev. James Sharp, as they work to plant churches, teach the faith, and support local mercy work and community building activities. In this eye-opening and inspiring conversation, she shares w...

How do Easter egg traditions enrich our celebrations of Christ’s resurrection? In this Wild Card episode, the Ladies recount their own family Easter egg and Easter basket traditions past and present before accompanying Bri on a hilarious grand tour of Easter egg customs around the world. From egg-rolling in Scotland to egg showers (cascarones) in Mexico to the elaborately decorated pysanky of Ukra...

A blessed April Fool's Day to you from Sarah, Erin, Bri, Rachel, and special guest Katie Schuermann, author of the Anthems of Zion series from Concordia Publishing House. "We are fools for Christ's sake ..." (1 Cor. 4:10a) Want to hear more from Candice, Nettie, Bev, and Mrs. Scheinberg? Subscribe to the print edition of The Lutheran Witness magazine at witness.lcms.org/Bradbury for new, continuin...

In this excerpt from their March 25 book club recap episode, the Ladies announce their next pick for the Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club: the Rev. Dr. John Kleinig’s Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body. From the publisher: "When it comes to thinking about our bodies, confusion reigns. In our secular age, there has been a loss of the body’s goodness, purpose, and end. Many people, driven...

Rachel leads Sarah, Erin, and Bri in a recap discussion of the latest Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club selection: Elizabeth von Arnim’s The Enchanted April. How does a woman who feels "miserable" and is absolutely longing "for something else" find renewal and refreshment? How do seemingly impetuous leaps of faith drive both the stories we read and the lives we live? What can we learn theologically from...

As Lutherans everywhere traverse the valley of Lent and prepare once again to remember Christ’s death and resurrection, Sarah looks forward to Passiontide with a Hymn Sing episode on Holy Week hymns. Hymns featured in this episode include those for Palm Sunday (“Ride On, Ride on in Majesty,” “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna,” and “No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet”); Maundy T...

With the pandemic finally winding down, more and more churches are resuming potlucks, Lenten soup suppers, and other fellowship meals. What better time to turn our attention to the humble, faithful Crock Pot? In this edition of Erin’s Recipe Card, Erin’s sharing her Uncle Kermit’s spicy, savory Crock Pot gumbo recipe—a dish that’s just as perfect for warming up on cold days as it is for cooling do...

Last week, the Ladies talked coffee. This week, they’re at the other end of the beverage spectrum, with an honest and hard-hitting Wild Card conversation on alcohol and Lutheran churches. Is drinking a sin? How does Scripture inform our use of alcohol? What did Luther think and say about alcohol and drunkenness? What place (if any) does recreational drinking have in our life together as Lutherans?...

We all know and love enjoying coffee hour together after church. (Click here and here for recent evidence of how much we at The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge love this venerable Lutheran tradition.) But how much do you know about the connection between coffee and Christianity? Test yourself with the latest round of Rachel’s Trivia Challenge—all about coffee! Which religious group pioneered the brewing a...

Amanda Husberg (1940–2021) was a church musician, early childhood educator, lifelong Lutheran lady—and the composer of hundreds of published hymn tunes, texts, choral pieces, and liturgies. In this episode, airing almost a year to the day of Husberg’s death (February 15), Sarah tells her story. Drawing not only on published sources but on firsthand interviews with those who knew her, Sarah describ...

Bri’s Radio Theatre is back, and this time, it’s all about coffee hour. In three brief comedy sketches—each written, performed, and produced by Bri herself—the members of St. John (or is it St. John’s?) Evangelical Lutheran Church navigate the ins and outs of coffee hour, Sunday school, and Bible study, with expert play-by-play analysis from commentators “Justin Fication,” “Andi Fechtung,” and “Vi...

In their latest “Iron Ladle Challenge,” the Lutheran Ladies each try their hand at making a tasty contribution for that most Lutheran of culinary events: the after-church coffee hour. Erin leads off with a plate of picture-perfect, sweet and savory apple-cheddar scones, while Sarah samples a new-to-her, vegan- and allergy-friendly blueberry-almond cookie. Bri goes rogue with a vanilla bean syrup s...

Shamelessly cherry-picking an idea from their recent interview with fellow Lutheran lady Katie Schuermann, the Ladies announce their next book club read: Elizabeth Von Arnim’s The Enchanted April. In this 1922 novel, ideal for all those who “appreciate wistaria and sunshine,” four Englishwomen, strangers to each other, split costs to rent an Italian castle for a month. Connect with the Lutheran La...

In this episode, Rachel leads Sarah, Erin, and Bri in a recap discussion of the latest Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club selection: Jane Austen’s Persuasion. What’s the deal with rank and social status in Regency England? What makes Anne Elliot such a likeable heroine? Is Lutheran-lady-lookalike Lady Russell more of a hero or a villain? Which big ideas, life lessons, and insights into the human condition...

You’ve seen it in the news: January 21, 2021, is the 39th annual March for Life, held both in our nation’s capital and in cities and towns around the country. This afternoon, thousands upon thousands of people are marching nationwide to support the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. But what does it look, feel, and sound like to be physically present for the national Marc...

For better or for worse, the 90s were an era rich in alternative, “family-friendly” Christian cultural touchstones, from Bibleman to McGee and Me!, from WOW music compilation CDs to VeggieTales cartoons. In this Adventure in [quasi]Lutheranism, Bri looks back on what was for her the most iconic of 90s Christian publications: Focus on the Family’s Brio magazine. Not content to base her reflections...

Katie Schuermann is a household name in many LCMS circles, beloved for her cozy Anthems of Zion trilogy of novels and for nonfiction books including He Remembers the Barren and Pew Sisters. Joining Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel in the Lounge for an uplifting “Conversations with Creatives” episode, Katie shares a wealth of insights on how to stay refreshed creatively, why discipline is an important...

One year ago, on New Year’s Eve 2020, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel each offered five blessings and one bold prognostication for 2021—forecasting everything from a kombucha apocalypse to a pandemic of hugging. But did any of their predictions come true? Listen in as the Ladies look back on their New Year’s blessings and prognostications from 2020 and offer a new round of predictions and good wishes...

Once again indulging in a little holiday nostalgia, Sarah, Erin, Bri, and Rachel here revisit their 2019 “poetry slam” holiday special as each (re)shares an original Christmas poem. From a Dr. Seuss-themed power ballad to a nativity “limerichard,” from a rhapsodic ode on Christmas hymns to a Hamilton-inspired angelic rap verse, these now-familiar homespun lyrics are newly enriched by a fresh poem...

By day, Lisa M. Clark is an editor at Concordia Publishing House, where she helps produce a variety of resources for the church. By night (and on weekends, and sometimes on coffee breaks), Lisa Clark writes—devotions, picture books, Bible curricula, Christmas programs, young adult novels, and hundreds of original hymn texts. In this “Conversations with Creatives” episode, Lisa joins Sarah, Erin, B...

How well do you know your favorite holiday songs? Test yourself with the latest round of Rachel’s Trivia Challenge—all about Christmas carols! Which beloved Christmas Eve hymn originally referenced Baby Jesus’s curly hair? Which carol writer once posed as the Virgin Mary for a famous pre-Raphaelite painting? Which faux medieval ballad is regularly sung at Boar’s Head Festivals around the country?...

From its earliest beginnings in 1893 till its final meeting in 1968, the Walther League was a major force and rite of passage in Lutheran life. This juggernaut youth organization—named for LCMS founding President C.F.W. Walther—brought young adults together for worship, education, service, recreation and fellowship. It also forged new generations of Lutheran leaders and served as the unofficial “m...

What on earth is a Boar’s Head Festival? And why are the Ladies so excited to talk about it? In this “Adventures in Lutheranism” episode, Bri spearheads an enthusiastic discussion of the seasonal cultural phenomenon known as the Boar’s Head Festival—an annual choral and dramatic extravaganza that celebrates the roots of beloved Christmas songs and traditions through medieval pageantry and the time...

Fruit + cake. What’s not to love? In this edition of “Erin’s Recipe Card,” Erin introduces Sarah, Rachel, and Bri to her Grammy’s fruitcake as she recreates an epic, 100+-year-old recipe—one that calls for teamwork, patience, upper body strength, and pounds upon pounds of dried fruits and nuts. Will Erin’s favorite holiday treat finally end the stigma against fruitcake? Will fruitcake skeptic Bri...